Consequent to violent protests across the country against implementation of the Agnipath scheme of recruitment to the three armed forces, the government has announced a slew of relaxations and concessions before making it clear that there is no question of backtracking from the proposal, which is now in the process of implementation.
One such lure is the announcement that 10% of the vacancies in the Central Police Forces (CPF) — like the CRPF, the BSF, the CISF, the ITBP, etc. — will be earmarked for released Agniveers. The government expects other departments of the Indian government and state governments to follow suit. Some of the giants in the private sector have also declared their preference to hire released soldiers. Whether doing away with the caste, creed and region-based regiments that have succeeded for more than 300 years is a debatable issue. So is the assumption that a younger force alone will add to the combat effectiveness of a battalion. There is a claim that a mix of youth and experience would only enhance operational achievements.
There are reasons to believe that sufficient homework has not been done before going ahead with such a vital change in the induction policy. At least public opinion mobilisation has been lacking as in the case of now held-in-abeyance reforms in the farming sector. If the public outcry and sentiments are any indication, the stakeholders have not been taken into confidence. So much for Jai Kisan Jai Jawan.
Now coming to 10% allocation of vacancies in various CPFs, it is not a problematic issue at all. The annual combined vacancies in these forces are in the range of 30,000 when there is no new raising of battalions.
Put together, the CPFs are almost at par with the Indian Army so far as strength of manpower is concerned. As such, a substantial number of Agniveers can be absorbed and such inductions will be salutary to the professional ethos of these forces.
The CPFs will stand to benefit as these personnel would bring in skills and experience that would enrich the work culture and fine tradition of these forces. Personnel of the CPFs take pride in calling themselves ‘faujis’, though their nomenclature may contain the word ‘police’, and the top command is still with the Indian Police Service.
In fact, in the 1970s and 1980s, a large number of released emergency commissioned officers and short service commissioned officers of the Indian Army did yeoman service to the CPFs, especially in the CRPF and the BSF, in nearly 70% of higher-middle command vested in them, and these officers gave excellent account of themselves. Similarly, a large number of other ranks inducted from the Army did so well, especially in the field of training.
So, absorption of Agniveers will only complement the operational efficiency and the training needs for the CPFs. These absorbed Agniveers—with their tough training and exposure to hard duties—will definitely be an asset to the CPFs, adding to their versatility. The number of intakes being substantial, it will be able to absorb a major chunk of such released personnel even during normal times.
In case of expansion of the CPFs, which happens often because of the ever-increasing demand for these forces, the intake would enhance further to the benefit of both released Agniveers and the receiving organisations.
K V Madhusudhanan
Former Inspector General (IG) of the North-Eastern Sector of the CRPF
(The writer also had a long tenure in the Special Protection Group)
(madhukappuva@yahoo.co.in)